Burson-Marsteller Korea의 Margaret Key 사장님께서 BMer들에게 보내주신 이메일 한 통!
지금의 PR전문가가 되기까지 어떤 일들을 경험했고, 또 그 경험으로부터 어떤 교훈을 얻었는지 솔직하게 적어주셨네요... 이 값진 교훈들을 실천하는 일은 우리의 몫! :)
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Dear all –
This will mark a month in my new role…some of you are new to the firm and some of you have been with us for a long time. I believe leadership is fundamentally connected to sharing…and today I wanted to share with you a few insights into what I have learned thus far in my career.
I hope that you will be found them useful in reflecting on your role in client work, in this firm and in your career path.
1.A consultancy’s strength always starts with the quality of its people. The basic ingredient to ensuring success of almost any firm and critical especially to a PR consultancy. Why? Because our truest asset is and always will be our people. If we can create an environment in which we recruit talent, keep employees satisfied while providing a challenging, learning-oriented work place, we will always stand out as an industry leader. We got a great team…and we are hiring new talent that will be sure to take us to new heights of success.
2. Don’t burn your bridges. You know the client who keeps you up at night, who calls you after hours, who simply gets under your skin…that client may one day be in charge of hiring you for another position in the future. Always try to exemplify patience and professionalism in tough times and remember rule #3.
3. Your client is a person. Even to write it seems very basic…we all have hard days and sometimes when we get to work and we start reading emails that remind us of all that we have to do in the day, we get overwhelmed and frustrated. Your clients have bad days too and sometimes the frustrations are thrown our way. For me, what has worked the most is trying to always step into the shoes of my clients – see things from their side. Many times our clients rely on us to look good in their respective organizations and if you get this basic principle, you can be assured of client loyalty and satisfaction.
4. Every day brings a chance to start over. I remember a time 6 years ago when I made a very stupid mistake with a client and I remember going home that day and thinking that I did not want to come back to the office. The story is rather long and if you want to hear the boring details, I can tell you but in any case, it was stupid but if I look back now, it was also innocent and naïve. I learned a lot from that mistake and many of you too will learn from your mistakes and you too should think that with each day is another chance at using your skills, becoming a better professional and most importantly, a better professional willing to make mistakes and learn from them.
5. Let passion drive your career and profession. Many of you decided to enter public relations for various reasons and too many of you came to B-M based on different motivations. I would say that most of you have learned to love PR for your own unique reasons and I would encourage you to dig deep and search for the passion in your career decision. For me, I enjoy PR because I have the ability to influence people and their choices on a broad scale and for the case of health, it is about empowering consumers. Find your passion in what you do and all things will fall easily into place.
6. What you put out will always come back. I think that this is probably more of a personal note that professional but it is still applicable. If you go through your career being genuine and honest and doing what is right for others (including clients and fellow colleagues), you will end up gaining so much more back. Focus on others rather yourself…I have seen so many managers who are selfish and driven by their own desire to get ahead and in PR, there is no room for the solo player. If you do decide to go solo, the ride will be short. Embrace teamwork and those around you.
7. Establish ambitious goals. During interviews, I usually ask prospective candidates what their 5 year career plan is and most do not really have a set path. I empathize with how hard the planning may be but I think that all should have clear goals in mind. Start today to map out what you would like to do in a year – do you want to get promoted? Do you want to work on a certain account? Start small and once you start organizing, the longer journey starts to become a bit easier to plan around. Without goals –and ambitious ones -, your career path will lose meaning…everyday you need some a lofty aspiration to guide and inspire you.
8. Know what is going around in the world. This is very much connected to reading the newspaper, watching television reports, reading books….if you are not informed of things that are happening in your sphere and outside of that sphere, you can never be a reliable consultant. Even a basic understanding of macro trends such as the current global crisis help you to understand our business as well as that of our clients. Being able to sit in front of new business clients and show them that you have a keen grasp of Korea and how the world sees Korea is integral to gaining confidence from prospects. Be informed, be smart and bring that to the table for your clients.
9. Connections are key. There is no other industry like PR where who you know really seals the deal. In the US, there is a push by PR companies to get their people to attend various social networking events because the idea is that having employees meet competitors or even prospects, the company is able to widen the pool of opportunities. Many of the clients we have now are based on referrals and such referrals have been the bread and butter of our business. If you are not connecting now, then you need to find some platform to do so. The great thing about the internet is that you can now connect without the need to do at a socializing event or reception…get out there and make a name for yourself and for our firm.
10. Take time for yourself. I always save the best for last…this is the one that I believe is of highest importance. For those of you whom I have met for lunch, you will note that I ask a lot of personal questions related to weekend plans, hobbies and even the personal, “You dating anyone?” I do this because I have a genuine interest in each and every one of you beyond what you do in the office. I too think that it is important to balance the professional and personal because if you lean too much on the professional, you end up being a very dry and boring person. Successful people are happy people and happiness is derived from an enjoyment of life inside and outside of the office.
Cheers,
Margaret
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